Design and development of sentient collective urban spaces

This chapter aims to envision design approaches for creating ubiquitous interactive spaces which can empower the users to shape and reshape their living environments. It starts with the discussion of the affordances of networked sentient technologies to facilitate cycles of reflexivity through a comparative case study. Based on this analysis, the author distils key principles for future practices including: incomplete, dynamic architectural program, continuous representation of the user needs, incorporation of user variety and differences, embracing open-endedness, self-organization and spontaneity in use. Following these principles, the author reveals a conceptual design for a sentient space in Ghent as a means to demonstrate action possibilities latent in ubiquitous spaces. In conclusion, the author shares lessons learned and elaborates on future directions.